1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet media feed mechanism and in particular to a sheet media tray which allows sheet media from two separate locations to be picked by the same pick mechanism and fed to the same feed path.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art devices will be discussed in terms of printers, although the concepts may be equally applicable to other devices having cut sheet media feed mechanisms; such as copiers.
In printers wherein cut sheet media is printed, there is a need to feed two types of cut sheet media from two different sources. The two types of sheet media to be fed are usually loaded into and held by separate compartments. The first type of cut sheet media is usually of a predetermined size and is fed automatically, without any operator intervention, from a stack of cut sheet media held in a tray. The second type of cut sheet media may be fed manually by an operator, and may come in different sizes, such as letterheads, cards and forms, for example.
To feed two types of sheet media from two different sources or locations, prior art sheet media feeding mechanisms have employed separate pick mechanisms for picking the sheet media from separate locations or separate feed paths for feeding sheet media from separate sources. Sometimes, both separate pick mechanisms and separate feed paths are used. Separate pick mechanisms and separate feed paths are generally used because the tray for either the manual feed sheet media or the automatic feed sheet media usually obstructs the sheet media from being picked or fed from the other tray. Separate pick mechanisms and separate feed paths result in increased costs and complexity.
Thus, it is desirious to cut costs and decrease the complexity of the sheet media feed mechanism by providing a sheet media feed mechanism which allows manual feed sheet media and automatic feed sheet media to be picked by the same pick mechanism and to be fed to the same feed path.